ALL ABOARD
Rules of the Road
1. Consume gallons of "healthy" drinks (shows Nick and Brian hold
up Coke cans)
2. Erm...let the real driver drive (shows Brian at the wheel)
3. Give each other plenty of space.
4. Don't forget your teaspoons (shows Brian stirring a cup of
tea with his finger)
5. Remember to pour the milk into a glass, not on the floor -
Duh!!
6. Eat all the food before AJ gets to it.
7. Keep the fridge well stocked at all times.
8. To go to sleep - shut eyes!
The Beds
Brian: Nick's pretty sneaky about nabbing the nicest bunk. He
gets to the bus a couple of hours ahead of time!
Nick: Well the best bunks get nabbed first.
Brian: We've pretty much gotten to know which bunk everybody wants.
Howie takes the back left with AJ above him and Kevin just across
the way. Me and Nick go a
bit further down the bus.
Nick: I'm sleeping in the bottom bunk right now 'cos it's nice
and snug down there. It gets really cold on the bus and it can
be a bit uncomfortable. I keep waking up
and wondering where I am. It's weird.
The Snoring
Nick: Howie snores sometimes. It's cos he sleeps with his mouth
open. I stuck in a bit of Kit Kat in his mouth once, and he tried
to take a bite out of it - in his sleep!
Brian: He talks in his sleep too. You can sometimes have a conversation
with him. He'll go "Hawaflawabah" and you go "Whaddya say Howie?"
and he'll go "Ah
nothing". Still fast asleep like a baby.
The Mess
Brian: I think me and AJ are considered the messiest. AJ eats
stuff and never throws away the wrappers. And he really hates
people touching his stuff. If something of
his gets moved, he goes nuts accusing everyone. "OK, who's been
near my things?!" Everyone gets on Nick's butt too, cos he leaves
the Nintendo area in a mess.
Nick: That's not JUST me!
The Arguments
Brian: Sometimes, we fight over the CD player. I'll play a CD
and then someone will take it out and throw it onto the counter.
By the end of the day, there's sappy stuff
all over it.
Nick: But there's never any really bad fights.
The Driver
Nick: He's called Conrad and he's from Germany. He's pretty cool
and keeps the bus nice and clean (Laughs cheekily)
Brian: He's an all-round nice guy and stops off at McDonald's
whenever we want.
Nick: Conrad speaks pretty good English but not enough to nag
you. We always wind him up about his girlfriends and call him
"Superboy".
The Parties
Brian: A couple of years ago, we had a mad Halloween party on
our old bus in the States. AJ's mum and the bus driver decorated
the place with fake cobwebs and
lanterns. It was cool. We managed to squeeze about 20 of us on
board.
Nick: Yeah, that tourbus was huge. It was the same one Whitney
Houston uses.
The Grub
Brian: AJ tries to get everyone to make him stuff. He'll ask for
a can of drink by going, "Oh since you're closer than me...."
and he's like an inch away.
Nick: Me and Brian raid the fridge first. We steal all the potatoe
chips and candy bars.
Brian: But Howie and Kevin are trying to get on the health thing
and watch what they eat.
Nick: AJ's really strict about his McDonald's. Nobody's allowed
near them. He's like, "Get off my french fries! Those are mine!"
The Lonely Nights
Nick: That's when I put my headphones on. I was listening to Metallica
yesterday.
Brian: I sit up front, listen to my CDs and look at the scenery.
It's the only time I get to chill.
Nick: I sit on my bunk and draw as well. I do cartoon characters
of the other guys.
The Nintendo
Nick: We always play Mario Kart or Tennis. Brian always beats
me at Tennis but I hold the title in Mario Kart. Yessss!!! Brian's
a bad loser. He holds a grudge when I
dig it in.
Brian: That's not true! I'm a good loser. Anyway, you don't always
win.
The Loo
Nick: Howie definitely takes the longest time in the toilet. He's
always the last off the bus.
Brian: We don't have a proper bathroom on the bus so we have to
brush our teeth and stuff when we get to the hotel. It's pretty
horrible, that.
The Bumpy Rides
Brian: Nicky got ill on this small van on tour last year. We had
to stop so he could be sick.
Nick: It was only because the guy driving, kept jerking the van
around. I've always fine on this bus cos it's nice and smooth.
The Personal Touches
Brian: All our personal things get chucked on our bunks. There's
no room to put stuff anywhere else. Even our clothes get stored
underneath the bus.
Nick: We used to have a little troll down at the front. Whenever
someone got off the bus, they had to put it on the seat as a sign
so the driver wouldn't take off without
them.
Brian: Luckily no one's ever got left behind...yet.
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